Figure 1: EchoBoy Main Control Panel and Style Edit Menu

soundtoys.com 4 THE BASICS - A DETAILED HISTORY OF ECHO (AND ECHOBOY) Echoboy Version 5

Delay and echo comprise the oldest and most commonly used effects in a tendency to saturate and impart a very natural compression that isthe history of recorded audio. Think about that classic double tracked fat, warm and crunchy. In addition to the compression, tape also addseffect on Elvis voice, the slap echo in 60s surf music, those cheesy a very characteristic type of distortion that is pleasing to the ear. This50s sci-fi movie sound tracks, Pink Floyd, The Beatles etc. They all used is especially true in the upper frequencies and bottom end. Its kind ofdelay and echo extensively, as has most of the music recorded in the like the concept behind the loudness button you find on cheap stereoslast 30 or 40 years. Delay and Echo remain essential to todays modern that hypes the high and low end, except with tape it actually does soundmusic maker. full, rich, punchy, crunchy, fat, and all around amazing.

In the early days, all delay effects were based on some type of tape With tape being a fully analog and non-linear medium, the sound of thedelay. Studios would often have a number of top quality tape machines echo would change quite drastically depending on how hard you hitattached to variable speed controls to be used as a delay device. the tape, how fast or slow the tape was moving, any EQ in the audioThe signal was fed to the input of the machine and the output of the path etc. In addition, the sound of the individual repeats would alsotape was monitored off the playback head. The space between the change drastically each time they were fed back from the playbackrecord head and the playback head along with the speed of the tape head with increasing amount of distortion, noise, wobble from the tapedetermined the delay time. machine and loss of high end. They werent accurate to the original sound, but they sure sounded GOOD! In fact one of the things engineersThe way it worked was like this: slow the tape down and the time it still drool over is the sound of a high quality tape machine being hit hardtook for the signal to get on to the tape and then be picked up by the with gobs of signal and used as a delay. This is especially true for vocalsplayback head increased and thus the delay time increased. Speed the with that classic vocal slap being one of the most common tricks oftape up and the opposite happened, the delay time got shorter. This the trade.provided early engineers with the ability to create variable length, shortslap back delays. If you took the output of the playback head and fed As technology progressed self contained tape echo machines like theit back into the input of the tape machine via a mixer you were able to original tube Echoplex (followed by the transistor Echoplex) appearedcreate repeating delays and echoes. The speed of the tape machine along with other tape echo devices like the WEM Copycat, Roland RE-201determined the delay time and the amount of the tape output fed back Space Echo and the like. There were also platter devices such as theinto the input determined the number of repeats in the echo. Binson Echorec that recorded signal to a magnetic spinning disc that had a variable playback speed and head. All of these tape-based unitsNow, when you shove a lot of signal onto analog tape the signal has provided a warm, fully analog sound in a relatively compact unit with

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integrated control of echo time, feedback, mixing and sometime EQ. In Man (think Andy Summers of the Police), MXR Analog Delay, and the up-addition, some units provided more than one playback head, allowing and-coming Boss and Ibanez units provided instrumentalists individualfor various types of echo patterns. control over their delay sound in compact analog delay pedals. To this day there are still many manufacturers making analog delay devicesFast forward to the late 70s and solid state echo devices started to for their characteristic sound, limited frequency response and lessappear based on what are known as bucket brigade analog delay than crispy fidelity. They provide great echo that is warm and notchips. These chips would grab a tiny piece of analog audio (no digital overpowering, and found all over top end guitar pedal boards.conversion here) and move the snippet of sound from one bucket inthe chip to the next at a particular rate. Put a number of these chips Next came the digital revolution and everything changed. Digital delaystogether with input control, feedback, and mixing options (along with a were all the rage with every manufacturer vying for a slice of theclock and bunch of other circuits), and analog delays were born. market. Some sounded REALLY bad with a very brittle, grainy sound. However others like the Lexicon Prime Time and PCM 41 / 42 soundedThe problem, or great thing about analog delays (depending on how amazing and are still in high demand for the quality and character ofyou look at it) was that analog delays had in most cases severely limited the sound. The sound of these units was not exactly true to life. In factbandwidth with the top end lopped off around 2k (or lower), limited low they had quite a bit of compression and pre/de-emphasis that alteredend, noise, and grunge. The output of an analog delay for sure sounded the sound of the signal but they provided some of the best sounding,a lot different than the input signal even in the top end units like the warm (again), clear, and full sounding delays that money could buy.amazing Marshall Time Modulator. But these devices did not need to Other units from TC and AMS in particular were also quite popular buthave their tapes changed, heads cleaned or have their motors wear out. they tended to have a more high fidelity sound. Youll still find all ofThey could be run on batteries and put into little pedals so that every these units all over top studios.Tom, Dick and David Gilmour could have multiple echoes at their feet. Afew higher end units were made like the previously mentioned Marshall As for creating a good sounding delay, what the musical world hasTime Modulator and the MXR Flanger Doubler, which became staples in learned is that echoes sound better when the repeat does NOT soundstudios for a short period of time. As mentioned, they had some funky exactly like the input signal. Of course there are times when you DOside effects, but often times those analog anomalies comprised a large want the delay to sound exactly like the input but in many cases thepart of their individual character. best sounding effect is when there are analog-like anomalies in the delay and echo along with limited frequency response. This is especiallyOther classic analog delays like the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory true on things like vocals and to this day many top artists still use tape

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slap or specific delay devices like the PCM 42 each of which have a less Sun Ra once said, space is the place. Were confident that EchoBoythan linear or flat response. The bottom line is they just SOUND really will take you to spaces and places unexplored previously. EchoBoy hasgood. a lot to offer under the hood, and if youre new to the plug-in please do browse this manual at least once, as there are a wealth of controls andWhich brings us to EchoBoy. EchoBoy was designed from the beginning options found inside. Enjoy!to provide not just another delay plug-in, but one offering completecontrol and the tonal options from a wide range of delay/echo devices.Since its initial release in 2006, EchoBoy has become the go-to delaytool for a staggering number of studios and producers world-wide. Wewent to great lengths in designing EchoBoy to accurately reflect thesound of a wealth of classic devices that have stood the test of time.We are pleased beyond words that our own creation has become one ofthose devices as well.

EchoBoy provides the necessary controls and parameters to emulate

virtually any classic or contemporary delay device. Our main goal wasto provide you with not only versatile but exceptional sound: one thatis truly musical, harmonically rich and with real character. Though itcan do that input-sounds-like-output thing, it excels at providing anincredibly wide range of unique and analog sounding delays, each witha unique and palpable character. It has a plethora of controls allowingyou to bring the kind of anomalies and character that were inherent intape and analog devices to your projects without a warehouse full ofexpensive (and temperamental) hardware. You can get as tame or aswild as you want with EchoBoy. Additionally, the included Rhythm Modeprovides for some truly new approaches to multi-tap delays.

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Figure 1: EchoBoys Main GUI

Figure 2: EchoBoy Main Control Panel (Single Echo Mode)

COMMON CONTROLS SATURATION

While the layout of EchoBoys Main Control Panel varies based on the The Saturation control provides a quick and easy means of impartingEcho Mode currently selected, many common controls are shared in all tube or tape-like compression, emphasis, and subtle distortion on to themodes. EchoBoy features four Echo Modes: Single Echo (shown above), delay signal. Saturation is a unique parameter that allows EchoBoy toDual Echo, Ping Pong, and Rhythm Echo. Well discuss each Mode in emulate many types of analog devices and different types of tape-baseddetail, but to start off well concentrate on the common controls that we delays both high and low end.will find in every mode. The resulting effect from manipulating the Saturation control will de- pend on the current Echo Style setting. In some cases, the Saturation changes may seem fairly subtle.

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SATURATION (continued) may or may not wish to have as part of your sound).

Its important to note that the Input and Output level only affects theFor example, when using the Studio Tape echo style, increasing echo signal, leaving the dry signal unchanged.amounts of saturation will add odd harmonic distortion in the low andmid-range, and will cause a high frequency compression effect. Thiseffect is especially nice on vocals, adding a bit of automatic de-essingon the echo during louder vocal passages. Or, when the style is set toLimited, the saturation control functions more like a limiter threshold,and will add increasing amounts of a very cool pumping limiter effect.

The Input and Output level controls are used to either boost or attenu-ate the input or output of EchoBoy. EchoBoys Input and Output controls ECHO STYLESallow you to vary the tone of the input signal being sent to the echocircuit. You can keep it nice and clean or make it dirty and messy. These Echo Styles, found in the Style menu underneath the Input/Outputcontrols were designed to replicate the way true analog input sections controls, make it easy to radically change the echo tone and quality torespond on physical analog hardware (and they will sound very different suit your project. Within the style menu youll find a staggering amountdepending on the setting of the Echo Style). of different echo sounds, modeled from a vast collection of hardware units at the Soundtoys lab. From the subtle warmth of high-end studioThe LED-style indicators located beneath the Input and Output knobs tape echo, to the lo-fi warbly sound of classic tape echo boxes (like theprovide a visual display of the input and output signal levels. The yellow Echoplex and Roland Space Echo), along with classic stomp boxes, rackLED indicates that the signal is 6dB below clipping. The red LED indi- units, and other assorted delay/chorus effects, EchoBoy has it all! Tocates maximum signal level, and possible audible clipping (which you change the Echo Style, simply click on the Style display window.

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ECHO STYLES (continued)

Memory Man Warm low-bandwidth chorus echo, modeled after the Electro-HarmonixThe following Styles are included in EchoBoy: Memory Man delay pedal.

Master Tape DM-2

Subtle tape compression and distortion, modeled after the Ampex ATR- THE guitar echo sound, modeled after the classic Boss DM-2 guitar102 we have in our lab, running at 30 ips. High-Fidelity, but smooth and pedal. Produced from 1981-84, the DM-2 is the quintessential bucket-musically pleasing, saturates very nicely. brigade delay. Warm, resonant, punchy, but clean.

Studio Tape TelRay

Subtle distortion and high frequency compression modeled after the Modeled after the Adineko (pronounced add-an-echo) oil-can delayATR-102 running at 15 ips, typical of the sound of tracking to studio tape. from 1960s California based manufacturer Tel-Ray (later to become Morley). Operating off a mechanism consisting of a magnetic brushSpace Echo head, a rotating insulated belt around a can, and lots of dielectric oilOne of our favorites, modeled after the Roland RE-201 Space Echo we sloshing about, the Tel-Ray produces a dark and warbling/waveringhave here in the lab. Warm and gritty, the RE-201 is a staple sound of echo.dub and reggae, but sounds phenomenal on a wide variety of sources.True to the units original character, the unique self-oscillation of the BinsonetteSpace Echo is achievable in EchoBoy utilizing the Feedback control. Another Soundtoys original. This is a wonderful warbly, compressed echo sound, modeled from several Binson Echo-Rec and Echo-Rec IITube Tape units in the Soundtoys lab. The Echo-Rec was used most notably by PinkModeled after a modern tape echo. Lots of high mids and distortion. Floyd and is absolutely perfect for guitar and keys.

Cheap Tape Telephone

A Soundtoys original, modeled after the characteristics of a variety The narrowband telephone-effect. This is great on vocals as you mightof vintage consumer-grade tape stock. Bright and very compressed imagine.sounding.

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ECHO STYLES (continued)

limitations of digital processing power in just the right way to allow the chorus effect to play nicely with the source audio.AM RadioModels the compressed medium bandwidth of AM radio. Analog Chorus A great all-around warm chorus, great for just about any source.FM RadioUltra-compressed and loud sounding, like a morning show DJ. CE-1 Chorus The world-famous warm chorus of the 1970s BOSS CE-1 ChorusShortwave Ensemble pedal. This is absolutely beautiful on guitar tracks.An exaggerated long-distance radio sound, very narrow and staccato. Acool effect on vocals or generated noises. Vibrato True pitch vibrato, great on keys and guitar.TransmitterSimilar to a CB Radio type response, this sound is very distorted and Saturatedresonant in mid-frequencies. Good for adding echo grit to synth sounds. Exaggerated tape distortion, well-suited for vocal or drum tracks.

Digital Delay FatFor as much as we wax romantically about the sound of analog, Super-warm distorted echoes. Fantastic on guitar or any source thatsometimes you do need the hyper-accurate representation digital offers. would benefit from a thick bed of echo surrounding it.Heres where this style comes into play. Just clean and clear digitaldelay. Distressed Highly compressed and distorted echoes.Analog DelayWarm and lightly distorted. Very reminiscent of vintage rack mount Limiteddelay processors of the 1970s-80s. This setting has a built-in limiter, great when coupled with high feedback settings.Digital ChorusThe 80s chorus sound, present and clear but compromised by the

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ECHO STYLES (continued)

DistortedDistortion, and lots of it!

QueekedAn odd but very cool multi-band compression echo, very effect-ladensound.

AmbientDistortion and diffusion together. Great for long feedback loops and soloinstruments.

VerbEcho with a cheap verb chaser afterwards, very responsive to theFeedback and Saturation controls.

Additionally, EchoBoy features a Style Editor which allows you to dig

even deeper and create your own custom Echo Styles. The Style Editorcan be accessed by pressing the Style Edit Button and the controls arecovered in depth starting on page 33.

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MIX Note that setting the Feedback value too high or near maximum can easily drive EchoBoy into runaway mode. The feedback control allows for the kind of self-oscillation achievable in units like the RE-201 SpaceThe Mix knob defines the mix balance between dry signal and delayed Echo. At higher settings things can get pretty wild very quickly.signal. At 12 oclock the mix balance is 50/50. As the control is increasedbeyond 12 o clock the level of dry signal is decreased until you have just High settings on the Feedback control can boost the output level fromdelay. If you are using EchoBoy in-line youll likely want to use Mix to EchoBoy significantly, so please be careful when turning up the Feed-define the balance of dry to delay. If you are using EchoBoy in a mix bus back knob at high volumes.you will likely want to set the mix to 100% wet and use the send returnlevels to define mix of the delayed signal.

The Mix control provides another means of controlling the relative levelof effect to dry. This allows you to balance individual delay presets and PRIME NUMBERSeven out possible amplitude anomalies. Add your echo and mix to taste!

When the Prime Numbers switch is in the up position, delay repeats are slightly altered in time in a very special way to minimize resonance ef-FEEDBACK fects. This is most noticeable in Dual Mode or Rhythm Mode. The Prime Numbers switch is especially useful when you are using short delay times with feedback, when chorusing, flanging, or creating reverb-likeThe Feedback knob allows you to feed a variable amount of the delay effects. It keeps the repeating echoes from building up resonance thatback into the input to create multiple repeating echoes. Increasing the often occurs when every repeat is at exactly the same time interval.Feedback increases the number of repeats. Depending on the Styleselected this allows you to create tape-like echoes that decay over time,multiple repeats and unique rhythmic effects based on the Echo Modeselected.

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LOW CUT / HIGH CUT TAP TEMPO

The Low and High Cut controls are used to adjust the frequency content Tap Tempo does what it says; start tapping on the grey button and itof the echoes based on the currently selected Echo Style. will determine the BPM tempo of your tapping. This control is useful not only in determining the tempo for live tracks not recorded to a clickWhile the High Cut knob provides for a darkening of the delay, the track but also for finding the appropriate feel for your echoes. EvenLow Cut is useful for attenuating bass frequencies or to create a desired on material that has been strictly aligned to grid, often times allowingtone for the delay. Both of these controls can be very beneficial in shap- echo effects to deviate from the grid adds a more organic feel to aing delays and their sense of distance to blend better with the original track.signal. Most analog delays and tape echoes impart a certain amountof high frequency roll-off to the signal, and the High Cut control allows MIDI TOGGLE SWITCHyou to create that kind of effect. It is important to keep in mind that theeffect of both controls will depend greatly on the Echo Style selected. When the MIDI Toggle Switch (located below the Tap Tempo display) is in the down (off) position, the rate of echo effects is determined by a manually entered or triggered value. When the MIDI switch is engaged, the incoming MIDI clock takes over as the master rate control.TWEAK BUTTON

Each Echo Mode found in EchoBoy features an additional, slide-out GROOVE

Tweak Menu giving you access to advanced controls that allow you tocompletely customize every aspect of your echo effects. Tweak Menucontrols are covered in detail with their respective Echo Modes begin- The Groove control allows you to impart a groove feel with EchoBoyning on page 16. in one of two flavors: Shuffle and Swing. Setting the knob straight up at 12 oclock is the zero setting and no Shuffle or Swing feel will be

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GROOVE (continued) By turning the control counter-clockwise an increasing amount of delay is imparted on both left and right channels before echoes are heard, similar to pre-delay in reverb. We called this one Draggin because it hasimparted on the echo pattern. Groove control adjustments create shift the effect of sliding behind the downbeat. As the control is increased,either forwards or backwards to the even beats towards a triplet type delay is added the effect will fall further and further behind the down-groove. beat.

As you turn the knob counter-clockwise towards Shuffle, an increasing

On the other end of the spectrum is Rushin. Instead of sliding theamount of shuffle feel will be added to the echo rhythm. As you turn modulation behind the beat it begins to move it ahead of the beat. Thisthe knob clockwise from the center 0 setting an increasing amount of is kind of like adding a negative pre-delay. As you turn the knob furtherswing feel will be imparted on the tremolo sound. The amount of Shuffle towards the maximum value, echoes will be moving increasingly aheador Swing dialed in with the knob will be relative to the currently set of the beat.Rhythm. Groove settings are imparted on the signal regardless of thetype of modulation used, the rate, or the rhythm setting.

MODE

FEEL The Mode Selector switch allows you to change between EchoBoys four Echo Modes. When a mode is changed you will notice that the control layout of EchoBoy changes accordingly.The Feel knob is similar to the Groove control but in this case shifts yourwhole delay output in relation to the beat, not just the groove of thepattern. The Feel control is like being able to control how echoes playin relation to the pocket; should they relax slightly behind the beat orpropel the movement forward, slightly rushing the tempo?

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Figure 1: EchoBoys Main GUI

Figure 5: EchoBoy Main Control Panel (Single Echo Mode)

SINGLE ECHO MODE ECHO TIME

Single Echo Mode is actually our favorite Mode in EchoBoy to work with. The Echo Time knob is used to control the amount of time betweenIt is simple to use, easy to understand, and capable of creating both your original sound and the echo output, and also the amount of timeclassic echo styles as well as customized echoes. Single Echo Mode between echo repeats.sounds great on a wide variety of material and contains all the toolsneeded to fine-tune your echoes to the source material. Single Echo Echo Time can be adjusted in several different ways. The first way is theMode is comprised of all of the common controls we referred to in the most obvious: turning the knob. When adjusted, the controls currentlast section, but there are two additional elements we will discuss here: setting will be displayed in the LCD-style readout below the series ofthe Echo Time control and the slide-out Tweak Menu. beige colored buttons. You will notice that there are are four options listed for those buttons: Time, Note, Dot, and Trip. These options corre-

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ECHO TIME (continued) NOTE, DOT, AND TRIP BUTTONS

spond to how the Echo Time is measured. With Time selected, we are Unlike the Time button which is based on fixed time values, the Note,measuring time in milliseconds (ms) and values in the LCD-style display Dot, and Trip options create echo patterns based on the current tempowill read as such. This is the second way to enter Echo Time values: (either user defined or MIDI sync).typing them in using the old-school looking LCD-style display. The EchoTime control also reacts like in hardware when you turn the the Echo You will notice that the display window features up/down menu arrows,Time knob in real-time, the pitch will audibly change just like in an old which is the third method for selecting Echo Time. Browsing the menuanalog delay box. Automating the Echo Time control can result in some is particularly helpful as it allows you to test different rhythmic divisionsvery cool pitch slide transition effects. based on the current tempo.

The Note, Dot, and Trip options range from 1/2 note all the way to 1/64Keep in mind that a millisecond is one one-thousandth of a second (or note. This is a very intuitive and musical way to adjust echo time. Justa very, very short time!). 500 milliseconds is half of a second, which dial in the note value you want to hear 1/16th note, 1/8th note, 1/4 note,is 1 beat at 120 BPM. Very short delay times (0 to 10 milliseconds) can etc. and EchoBoy will lock right in to your groove. You can also chooseproduce some really cool flanging effects, and slightly longer times (10- dotted or triplet versions of musical note values by using the Dot and50 milliseconds) can be used to produce chorus and doubling effects. Trip buttons. When programming Echo Time using one of the NoteSlap-back echoes are usually in the 100 - 200 millisecond range. The settings, EchoBoy will smoothly crossfade to any new note values.maximum echo time depends on the specific Echo Mode in use.

Figure 6: Single Echo Mode Tweak Menu

SINGLE ECHO MODE TWEAK MENU

parameter described below, and the Diffusion and Wobble parameters, which can be found on the Style Edit page. Suffice it to say that differ-Single Echo Modes slide-out Tweak Menu adds three additional ent Echo Styles will have different flavors of stereo imaging. Dialing in aparameters to control: Width, L/R Offset, and Accent. All three of these little extra Width with this control can really fatten up the delay signal,options can very very helpful in fine-tuning your echo effects in relation creating a fuller and richer effect.to the source material.

L/R OFFSETWIDTH

The L/R Offset is also used to control the stereo imaging of EchoBoy,The Width parameter controls the stereo spread of EchoBoys output. but by adding a small delay difference between left and right channels.When set to its minimum value (or off), the delay time for the left and This parameter is adjusted in milliseconds, and has a maximum value ofright channel is exactly the same and the delay will appear panned 25 ms (default is 8ms). Smaller settings will produce a tighter rhythmiccenter in the stereo field. As the Width control is turned up, the stereo feel, but may introduce phasing effects. Larger settings will tend toimage will get wider and wider. As this width control is turned past the produce less phasing problems, but will produce a looser rhythmic feel.3 oclock position, out of phase information is used that can move the In order to hear the effect, the Width control must be turned up.delay signal outside the speakers in a pseudo-super-stereo spread.The stereo effect created by EchoBoy is a function of the L/R Offset

The Accent knob does for amplitude what the Groove knob does fortiming. By turning up the Accent, delay repeats will alternate betweenlouder and softer, producing a more dynamic and musical echo effect.

To hear the effect of the Accent control, turn up the feedback so thatyou can hear lots of repeats, and choose a note value like 1/8th or1/16th. The Accent knob is bipolar, so that at 12 oclock or straight up,the Accent knob has no effect.

As you turn the Accent knob to the right, or clockwise, you will noticethat the volume of each repeat will alternate between loud and soft.This will emphasize the 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc. of the echo pattern. This willproduce a strongly accented musical feel. Turning the knob in the otherdirection, or counter-clockwise will have the opposite effect, empha-sizing the off-the-beat repeats, resulting in a more syncopated feel. Inthis case the 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc. will be emphasized, and the repeats thatland on the beat will be quieter.

This can add considerable animation and dynamics to repeating delays

and is especially cool when the repeats are tempo synced and when youadd shuffle or swing with the Groove control on the main Control Panel.

Figure 7: EchoBoys Main Control Panel in Dual Echo Mode

DUAL ECHO MODE

Dual Echo Mode is also a wonderful tool for creating very large echoDual Echo Modes controls are similar to that of Single Echo Mode soundscapes as the left and right channels differ.except that you now get two independent echo channels. The Echo 1section controls the left channel echo, and the Echo 2 section controls Keep in mind that the other controls - Feedback, High Cut, Saturationthe right channel echo. and the like affect both channels the same, regardless of whether the input is mono or stereo.So, in Dual Echo Mode you can have one channel free-wheeling (basedon time, not Bob Dylan) and not synced to tempo while the other Dual Echo Mode uses the same controls as Single Echo Mode but withchannel is and set to a specific note value of your choosing. This the addition of a second Echo Time control. Echo 1 and 2s operation isallows you to create all sorts of different creative delay combinations. identical to that of the previously described Echo Time control (pg. 16).

Figure 8: Dual Echo Mode Tweak Menu

DUAL ECHO MODE TWEAK MENU WIDTH / L/R OFFSET

Dual Echo Modes slide-out Tweak Menu builds upon the features These two controls operate in the same manner as in Single Echo Mode.found in the SIngle Echo Mode Tweak Menu, but adds in controls for They are described in detail back on page 18.the balance between delay lines, individual Accent controls, as well asFeedback parameters.

ACCENT 1 / ACCENT 2

BALANCE Just like in Single Echo Mode, by turning up the Accent control, delay repeats will alternate between louder and softer, producing a more dy- namic and musical echo effect. The Accent knob is bipolar, so that at 12The Balance control is very simple: it gives you control over the relative oclock or straight up, the Accent knob has no effect.loudness of the left and right channels. Turn the knob to the left tomake the left channel louder. Turn it to the right to make the Right As you turn the Accent knob to the right you will notice that the volumechannel louder. of each repeat will alternate between loud and soft. This will emphasize the 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc. of the echo pattern. This will produce a strongly accented musical feel. Turning the knob in the other direction, or count- er-clockwise will have the opposite effect, emphasizing the off-the-beat

ACCENT 1 / ACCENT 2 (continued)

Keep in mind that the front panel Feedback knob has to be turned up some to hear the effect of FB Mix.

repeats, resulting in a more syncopated feel. In this case the 2nd, 4th,6th, etc. will be emphasized, and the repeats that land on the beat willbe quieter. FB BAL

This can add considerable animation and dynamics to repeating delays

and is especially cool when the repeats are tempo synced and when you Turning up the Feedback knob in Dual Echo Mode will normally affectadd shuffle or swing with the Groove control on the main Control Panel. Echo 1 and Echo 2 equally. To get more feedback in the right channel, turn the FB Bal (Feedback Balance) control to the right (clockwise). To get more feedback in the left channel, turn the knob to the left (counter-FB MIX clockwise).

This can be especially useful when Echo 1 and Echo 2 are set to differentNormally, the two echo channels in Dual Echo mode are completely times, as the feedback of one side may appear louder than the otherindependent. The Feedback Mix control allows some of the output of side. This control allows you better tailor and adjust the balance andEcho 1 to feedback into Echo2, and vice-versa. As you increase the value stereo image of the echo feedback. Like the Feedback Mix control, thisof the Feedback Mix knob, an increasing amount of Echo 1 will be fed knob will only have an effect when the front panel Feedback knob hasinto Echo 2 and an increasing amount of Echo 2 is fed into Echo 1. been turned up.

At the zero position (12 oclock), equal amounts of Echo 1 and Echo 2 willbe fed into both channels. This is a great way to get dense, reverb-likeecho sounds. At the maximum setting, Echo 1 will get all of its feedbackfrom Echo 2, and vice-versa. This is referred to as cross mixing andprovides for some really unique cross-pollinated and syncopated delaysounds, depending on the settings for the two Echo channels.

Figure 9: EchoBoys Main Control Panel in Ping-Pong Echo Mode

PING PONG ECHO MODE

Even if the Pong delay time is set shorter than Ping, you will always hearPing Pong mode is used to create an Echo that bounces back and forth Ping first and then Pong.between the left and right output channels. The control panel is nearlyidentical to the Dual Echo mode, however the effect is very different. As you turn up the Feedback control things can get really interesting as each successive repeat is predicated on the other side being heard. So,It is important to keep in mind that the initial echo will ALWAYS appear lets say Ping is 500 ms and Pong is 250 ms. If you play a note you willin the left Ping channel with the initial repeat determined by the echo hear Ping 500 ms later, Pong 750 ms later (Ping + Pong) and Ping againtime set for Ping, be it in milliseconds or notes. The second echo will at 1250 ms (Ping+Pong+Ping) then Pong again at 1500 ms (Ping + Pongalways appear in the right Pong channel and it only appears based on + Ping + Pong) and so on and so on. So the delay repeats are relative tothe Ping time PLUS the Pong time. each other with each repeat of Ping showing up in the left channel and

each Pong repeat showing up in the right channel, but only AFTER the Well, while Ping Pong Mode may take a bit of explaining the Tweak Menuother has been heard. However, keep in mind that the other controls - is pretty straight forward comparatively. The Tweak Menu in this ModeFeedback, High Cut, Saturation and the like DO affect both channels the consists of just two controls: Width and Balance.same, regardless of whether the input is mono or stereo. As previously described in the Single Echo Mode Tweak Menu (page 18)You can get some truly wild results when Ping or Pong is set to Width controls the stereo spread of EchoBoys output. When set to thea specific Note value with MIDI sync but the opposite is set to minimum, delays will appear panned center in the stereo field. As themilliseconds. Setting both Ping and Pong to note values and syncing to Width control is turned up, the stereo image will get wider and wider.MIDI clock can provide for some fantastically rhythmic delays. Once turned past the 3 oclock position, out of phase information is used to create a beyond the speakers effect.Again keep in mind that Ping Pong is always stereo out, but that theinput is always summed to Mono. This is true regardless of whether you The Balance control also operates as in previously discussed modes,are running on a mono or stereo insert. controlling the relative loudness of the left and right channels. Turn the knob to the left to make the left channel louder. Turn it to the right to make the right channel louder, its that easy!

Figure 10: Ping-Pong Modes Tweak Menu - Easy!

Figure 11: EchoBoys Main Control Panel in Rhythm Echo Mode

RHYTHM ECHO MODE

feel different at first if you have spent a lot of time with other, more traditional multi-tap delays. So lets get started with a primer on RhythmRhythm Echo Mode is where things really get interesting! In this mode, Echo Modes basics.you can have up to sixteen echo outputs (also commonly referredto as taps), programmable in nearly any conceivable rhythm. This isanalogous to having a tape echo with sixteen read heads. WORKING IN RHYTHM ECHO MODE

EchoBoys Rhythm Echo Mode is designed in a way to allow you to

achieve some very cool results with a minimum amount of knob turning EchoBoys Rhythm Mode is a lot like a pattern-based drum machine forand tweaking. You can quickly create echo patterns with various echo, with each hit corresponding to a discrete echo. Youll notice thattime bases, numbers of repeats, and envelope shapes, which may

WORKING IN RHYTHM ECHO MODE (continued) SHAPE

in Rhythm Echo Mode a new Rhythm Editor window appears between The Shape control is exclusive to Rhythm Echo Mode and allows youthe Low and High Cut knobs. Using this Rhythm Editor, you can place to apply various amplitude shapes across all the echoes on the screen,echoes at any location on the grid (echoes will appear as bright green providing a quick and easy way to manipulate the echo level. The Shapevertical bars), creating patterns for EchoBoy to play out. Echoes fur- knob determines how much of the selected volume shape will be appliedthest to the left will be heard first, and echoes to the right will be heard to the taps in the pattern.last. The volume of each echo is represented by the height of eachgreen echo bar. Taller echoes will be louder, and shorter echoes will be Shapes can be browsed using the LCD display with the small up/downquieter. Turning up the feedback control will cause the pattern to repeat arrows or selected from a menu using the larger down arrow on the(and can even be driven into self-oscillation). Patterns can also be right of the display. The choices available are:synced to MIDI for generating tempo-locked delay patterns.

Youll notice one more addition to the control panel besides the bigRhythm Editor grid; theres now an additional button labeled PATTallowing you to recall or save customized rhythm patterns. Soundtoysrhythm patterns can be shared between any Soundtoys plug-in with arhythm mode. DecayThe Rhythm Editor grid represents the full length of the echo pattern Successive echoes get progressively lower in volume moving from leftmeaning you will only hear repeats that are visible on this display (by to right. This is used to create a natural echo decay pattern, and can bedefault 2 beats long). To make the echo pattern longer or shorter, you useful for creating reverb-like sounds.can adjust the pattern length in the Tweak Menu (which we will discussstarting on page 31).

Reverse FadeThe opposite of Decay. Progressive echoes get louder. This is an often The opposite of Swell where the taps start loud and have a dip in theused effect, and can be used to make those classic 80s backwards echo middle of the pattern.sounds.

NonLin A semi-random cluster pattern with multiple minor peaks and valleys.Swell This is patterned after another 80s classic - the NonLinear setting fromThe echo starts out low in volume, gets louder in the middle, and gets the high-end AMS RMX16 digital reverb box.quieter again. Useful for rhythmic delays.

CREATING CUSTOM RHYTHM PATTERNS ADDING / DELETING AN ECHO

The Rhythm Editor gives you a graphical view of each of the echoes, as To create a new echo (taking into consideration that all 16 echoes arewell as a means of tweaking each individual echo. Simply click inside not yet on the screen), simply click in the Rhythm Editor window. A newthe grid window to set and adjust any of the (up to) 16 individual echoes green bar will appear where ever you happen to click and the bar will(you can also option-click and command-click). Keep in mind the follow- automatically be placed on the nearest vertical grid line.ing while editing: To delete an echo, press and hold the Option key and then click on one Only the echoes that you can see in the window are the of the existing delay taps which will remove it. ones that you will hear.

Each echo can be adjusted in two ways: time/placement and ADJUST ECHO VOLUME / MOVING AN ECHO volume. Where it appears on the grid determines its time within a pattern and its height determines its volume. The taller the bar, the louder the echo. If you click on an echo and hold the mouse down you can move the echo anywhere on the grid. Youll notice that the echo will always jump to one You cannot have two echoes at exactly the same place / time. of the grid lines. Keep in mind that you can select a finer grid like 1/32nd If you try to move one of the echoes to a location where anoth- to adjust the location of the echoes in a more precise manner. er tap already exists, EchoBoy will automatically move the echo back to its original location when you let go. EchoBoy will also To adjust an echos volume, simply click on a echo and drag the cursor not allow you to create two echoes in the same location as an up or down and the bar will get longer or shorter depending on which existing one. direction you drag. Higher is louder and lower is softer.

Use the Feedback control to repeat full patterns, use the

Repeats control to define the number of individual echoes that will repeat.

ADJUSTING AN ECHO BETWEEN GRID LINES THE ONE ECHO

Now, there just might be times when youd want to place a echo in be- Well, by now you probably noticed that the first tap in your pattern istween the grid lines and NOT have it quantized at all, not even down to yellow instead of green. So why is that?a 1/64th note. No problem! Just press and hold the command or ctrl key(depending on your operating system) and then click on a echo. You can We call this echo the One. Any echo placed exactly at beat one (or 0now move the echo anywhere you like forward or backward on the grid milliseconds in time mode) will appear this way. It will also NOT be heardand between the grid lines to get the echo exactly where you might like. unless the Feedback is turned up. If there is no Feedback, the One is the note that YOU play, which is the dry signal. The first echo to beYou will also notice that two sets of numbers appear next to the echo. heard in this case is actually the second echo in the pattern.The top set of numbers displays the location in fractions of a beat andthe bottom number reads out the actual volume of the echo in dB. This However, if you turn up the feedback the whole pattern WILL repeat andallows you to set the echoes in front of or behind the beat in very therefore the One WILL be heard as the pattern restarts on the One.precise locations. If you move it in time so that it is not at the start of the pattern, its color will change to green, indicating that it is no longer the One, and you will now hear it as a discrete echo. If you dont want to hear the tap simply delete it or lower its volume. Note that if you do delete the One echo you can always restore it simply by clicking on the left edge of the grid.

SAVING ECHO PATTERNS REPEATS

Once youve created an echo pattern that you really love, you can save The Repeats control is used to define how many individual echo repeatsthe pattern by pressing the down triangle on the right side of the LCD you will hear, and is a very powerful control. You can select the numbermenu display. of repeats by turning the knob or by using the nudge buttons on the left side of the associated LCD display.Select Save, enter a name for your pattern and press OK. Your cus-tom pattern was just saved and will now appear in the preset list. If you turn the number number of Repeats down below the number of echoes already shown in the Rhythm Editor, any echoes above that newly selected value will go away, and you will no longer hear them. Increasing the value of the Repeats control will cause those echoes to re-appear and be heard. If you increase the number of echoes, EchoBoy will automatically place a new tap at the next logical location based on the selected grid value.

While In Rhythm Echo Mode, specific numbers of echo repeats can be

dialed in using the Repeats knob instead of using the Feedback control. This allows for control of both the volume level and the exact timing of each echo, giving you much more creative power.

So, to hear exactly four repeats at 1/16th intervals, dial in a note value of 1/16th, and set the Repeats knob to 4. You will see four green bars ap- pear on the display, one for each echo repeat. For more or less repeats, simply adjust the Repeats value. Selecting the Dot/Trip buttons will create an echo pattern based on dotted or triplet notes. Selecting the Time button will create an echo pattern in milliseconds (and youll hear that cool analog pitch shift effect when adjusting the delay).

Figure 12: Rhythm Echo Modes Tweak Menu

RHYTHM ECHO MODE TWEAK MENU ACCENT

Rhythm Echo Modes slide-out Tweak Menu adds new pattern specific The Accent control works like in previous modes (page 19), allowingtweaks along with some of the controls we have seen previously like L/R delay repeats to alternate between louder and softer, depending on theOffset and Width. If you need a refresher on these two controls, head on controls setting. Accent emphasizes the 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc. of the pattern.back to page 19.

RHYTHM GRIDPAN SHAPE

The Rhythm Grid selection menu makes it easy to change the scale ofThe Pan Shape LCD menu allows you to select from a number of preset the Rhythm Editor grid without affecting echoes that are already inPan shapes for the echoes (or taps). The options are: Double, Center, Alt place. In other words this allows you to change the grid value (such as1,2,3, Sweep L, Sweep R and Pan. Each of these patterns pan the taps 1/32 notes) without it changing your previously placed 1/16 note pattern.into different preset positions and youll hear the variations clearly The finer the setting of the Grid, the more precision you have in placingwhen you move through the patterns. When the Double pan shape is echoes.selected, the number of taps is cut in half, from 16 to 8, and each tapbecomes a stereo output, with independent modulation. This shape is However, any adjustments to previously placed echoes or newly createdamazing for creating really meaty, thick, rich chorus effects. echoes will align to the new grid value.

This menu allows you to determine the overall length of the rhythmpattern from between 1 and 8 beats.

If you think of the pattern length as a musical measure, the number

here defines how many beats there are per measure. For example, if youselect 3 Beats the pattern will repeat every third beat. This is like play-ing in 3/4 time. If you select 4 Beats the pattern will be 4 beats longand it is like playing in 4/4 time, as it will take 4 beats to complete thepattern.

soundtoys.com 32 THE ECHOBOY CONTROL PANEL - THE STYLE EDITOR Echoboy Version 5

Figure 13: EchoBoys Style Editor

THE STYLE EDITOR EQ

The Style Editor is an extremely powerful and detailed tool; in fact, The Style Edit Menu includes an extensive and versatile 3-band EQ sec-these control parameters were used to create the included style presets. tion in the Style Edit menu that provides the means to truly tailor theThe Style Editor allows you to create custom styles with just as much overall tone and frequency content of the delays in both standard andcharacter as ours. Clicking on the Style Edit button in the main Control unique ways.Panel (underneath the Style Menu and Input/Output controls) opens upthe menu you see above (Figure 13). There are three EQ sections;:Low, Mid, and High. The High and Low EQs are gentle shelving filters while the Mid EQ is a one band semi-paramet- ric EQ. The EQ section affects both left and right channels of the delay and does not change the input signal.

soundtoys.com 33 THE ECHOBOY CONTROL PANEL - THE STYLE EDITOR Echoboy Version 5

GAIN / DECAY

Decay can either increase or decrease the EQ depending on

the direction of the control. Turning the Decay to the left will The Gain and Decay controls make the EQ section truly dynamic. The EQ Out where as turning the knob to the right will boost the Gain control is fairly self explanatory and serves as a boost or cut for frequencies with each successive repeat.the initial delay relating to the corresponding part of the frequency

spectrum (Low, Mid, or High). The Gain knob defines how the initial delay repeat will sound and the Decay knob defines what will happen with each sub- The Decay knob controls how the tone of the echo changes with succes- sequent repeat. So for instance, it is possible to set the High EQ sive echo repeats. Gain negative so the first repeat will sound dull and at the same time set the Decay control positive. This will cause eachIt is important to note that to hear the affect of the Decay parameter successive repeat to get brighter - or you could do the opposite. you need to have Feedback turned up. By setting the High Decay to a The same holds true for each of the other bands and the total negative value (cut), successive echo repeats will get darker and darker. effect is a combination of the Frequency, Gain, and Decay for all If High Decay is set to a positive value (boost), successive repeats will three EQ bands.get brighter. The same applies to the Low and Mid bands.

The higher you set the Decay, the greater the increase/de- This allows you to create subtle or radical dynamic tonal changes. For crease in the EQ with each successive delay repeat. You can instance, you can have the high frequency dull progressively with each set it low with a lot of feedback so each repeat will just get a repeat, the mid section getting quickly more pronounced and the low little brighter, or you could have medium Feedback and set the end trailing off rapidly. Or, any one of a million different variations either decay value higher (either direction) which will cause more positive or negative for each EQ band. A couple of things to keep in significant and pronounced jumps in the EQ with each repeat.mind:

These controls are invaluable when trying to mimic the frequency re- You can set the direction and degree of change for each of the sponse change that occurs in various types of delay devices (tape, three bands independently and each will respond independently analog, digital etc). The changes can be very subtle or highly radical of the other bands. depending on how the various controls are set.

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DIFFUSION diffusion Size control, the Loop/Post Switch setting, the Echo Time set- ting, and the amount of echo Feedback they are all highly interactive.Diffusion is a common parameter found in reverbs that imparts a kind ofsmear and adds density to the reverb signal. It is what makes reverbsound dense and thick. The Diffusion parameter in EchoBoy is similar. SIZEEach time the echo goes through the diffusion filter it becomes lessdistinct: a blurry or smeared sound. Higher control settings result inincreased diffusion of sound. With short echo times, this can give you The Size control adjusts the character of the diffusion effect. Smallera kind of room reverb effect where the individual repeats meld into a settings will produce more subtle diffusion effects, and even phasing atcluster of short diffused and smeared delays. extremely small settings. Larger settings can produce more reverb-like effects. The best setting for the Size control will vary depending onAt longer Echo Time settings, (and with feedback turned up) the dif- your source material. You may find settings that sound really great withfused delays can create a kind of plate or hall reverb effect. When in percussive input are just no good with sustained musical sounds, forDual, Ping Pong, or Rhythm Mode the effect will sound more dense as example.you have more than one delay being diffused and each delay can be setto a different time. LOOP / POST SWITCHWhile the Diffusion Amount control will soften echoes, it can at thesame time, cause increased resonance. This is similar to the sound you The Loop/Post Switch defines where in the echo path the Diffusionget when you turn up the feedback on a Flanger; it will sound metallic filters are placed. In the down or Post position the echoes are dif-and robot-like. Moderation will be needed to strike a balance between fused at the the end of the signal chain, and each echo repeat is equallytrying to impart a realistic reverb sound but keeping it from becoming diffused. In the up or Loop position, the diffusion is moved into thetoo resonant and artificial sounding. feedback loop of the echo, and each successive repeat will become increasingly diffused.The resulting sound is also highly dependent on the setting of the

soundtoys.com 35 THE ECHOBOY CONTROL PANEL - THE STYLE EDITOR Echoboy Version 5

WOBBLE WOBBLE SHAPE

We love the Wobble control, and know you will too! This parameter adds You can also tweak the shape of the wobble effect, using the LCD -stylea vari-speed effect to the echo kind of like the wow from tape record- menu below the Rate and Sync knobs. Different shapes will produceers and tape echo machines. This allows you to add a highly analog feel different results, as follows:and unpredictability to repeating delay/echo sounds, as well as createsome great chorus effects. These effects can range from subtle to Triangle - The pitch will ramp up and down repetitively.radical. The main Wobble depth control defines how much pitch wob-ble will be applied to the echo. At full counter clockwise, the wobble is Sine - Similar to the above, except smoother.off. As you turn up the control, you will hear greater amounts of pitchvariation. At higher settings you will hear extreme modulation which will Square - Pitch will bounce between two values.mangle and warp the sound in some wild and wonderful ways. Random Walk - The pitch smoothly ramps between random values.

Random S/H - Pitch abruptly jumps from random value to random val-

WOBBLE RATE ue. A sample and hold effect.

The Wobble Rate knob controls the speed of the Wobble pitch varia- Both Random Walk and Random S/H are useful when you are looking totion. At lower settings, the pitch will change (or wobble) slowly, and at impart some analog feel and random modulation to your delay sound.higher settings the pitch will change rapidly. The wobble rate is best With slow speeds and low Wobble depth you can re-create some of thetuned to suit your taste and mood. The Wobble-related controls provide sauntering randomness inherent in many vintage tape based delaythe means to add a significant amount of animation and analog-ness units.to the delay sounds allowing you to re-create the non-linearities andanomalies present in early delay devices.

soundtoys.com 36 THE ECHOBOY CONTROL PANEL - THE STYLE EDITOR Echoboy Version 5

FB / OUT TOGGLE SWITCHES SYNC

The FB (Feedback) and Out toggle switches are used to select what We know that the Wobble section has the capability to modulate theparts of the signal recieve the wobble effect. pitch of every echo path independently. What the Sync knob determines is if the various echo paths are all aligned and modulating in the sameWith the FB switch engaged (in the up position with the LED indicator way (rate or phase) or not, depending on which way you turn the knob.illuminated) wobble modulation is applied to both the initial echo as wellas any echoes resulting from the Feedback control on the Main Control With the Sync control set at 12 oclock the phase and rate of all the echoPanel. pitch variations will be identical for both left and right channels and for the feedback paths. As you turn the Sync knob to the left or counter-The Out switch, when engaged, will apply the wobble modulation to the clockwise, the pitch variation will get more and more out of sync, withentire signal, wet and dry. This results in truly wild results when set at different echo paths wobbling at different rates.higher levels, producing very resonant and pronounced sounds. Turning the knob to the right (clockwise), will leave the wobbling in sync, but will put the pitch variation out-of-phase for various echo paths. This means that when the right channel is being pitched up, the left will be pitched down.

Both types of modulation deviation are highly useful and can provide for some really great, rich sounding choruses, flanges and of course mod- ulated delays. When using one of the random waveforms as described above, you can impart both subtle and radical random modulation to the EchoBoy delays and with careful tweaking it is likely that you will be able to recreate vintage sounds as well as craft new custom styles tailored specifically to your projects.

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SATURATION Soft Limit A fairly smooth limiter.

The Tweak Menus saturation controls work in conjunction with the Warm Limit Smooth and warm as you turn up the saturation andSaturation knob found on the main Control Panel. These two knobs levels.allow saturation to be applied to either the delay or overall signal inde-pendently. Saturation can add presence, fatness, definition, warmth and Bright Limit A bright-sounding limiter that will enhance air andcharacter to your echoes and can help them sit in the mix in a less (or breathiness.more)obvious way. Note: If you are creating your own style preset be sure to set the frontBelow both controls is an LCD-style menu defining the type of satura- panel saturation knob to the default setting (12 oclock, or straight up),tion - options are: and adjust the saturation levels using the controls found in the Tweak Menu.Clean Well, a clean sound, with some limiting as saturation or levelsare turned up.

Tape High frequency compression and low-end distortion typical of

high quality tape.

Warm A more dramatic warm distortion.

Pump A dramatic popping, pumping limiter effect.

Dirt Grungy and dirty, a little harder edged.

Hard Limit Hard limiting, will pump if you hit it hard.

soundtoys.com 38 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Echoboy Version 5

SUPPORT INFORMATION

Please have the following information available to help assist our

support team:Now that youve taken the time to learn all about EchoBoy, have fun,experiment, and make greatness! If our plug-ins helped you take your The product version and serial numberproduction to the next level, let us know, wed love to hear from youand what you were able to create with our software. The version number of your audio system (e.g ProTools 11.2.1, Cubase 8.0.5, Logic 10.1.0, Cakewalk Sonar X3)If along the way however you should run into any hiccups or anythingunexpected, we offer free technical support for all registered users. Your interface/hardware (e.g. Mbox Pro, Apogee Quartet, RME Fireface, etc.)Our FAQ contains many helpful answers. you can find it at:

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners, which are in no wayassociated or affiliated with Soundtoys. These trademarks are used only for historicalreference or to identify products whose sounds or tone were studied in the developmentof our plug-ins.